South news briefs: Two-day camps for kids start soon at Cedar Lake Farm

Two-day camps for kids start soonScott County's park at Cedar Lake Farm is taking applications for two-day adventure camps for kids ages 8 to 11.

Participants will enjoy the outdoors and work on adventure and survival skills such as fire and shelter building and GPS navigation.

The cost is $90 for camps to be held on successive afternoons from 1 to 4 pm. Dates are Monday-Tuesday, June 25-26 (program code #327710-00) and Wednesday-Thursday, July 25-26 (#327710-01).

Cedar Lake Farm Park is located at 400 W. 260th St., near New Prague. Call 763-559-6700 for more information or to sign up.

Summer reading starts next weekPizza coupons and backpacks are among the potential prizes as reading incentives this summer through the Scott County libraries.

The program, called Bookawocky: A Celebration of Summer Reading, is to be featured at all seven branches, starting Monday and lasting until Aug. 11.

For more information on the preschool, school-age and teen programs, including prizes offered and links to events at each library, visit the library system's website, www.scott.lib.mn.us/srp .html.

Cooking and growing advice for the kidsKids interested in growing and preparing nutritious foods can register now for a free class offered by the Woodhill Urban Agricultural Learning Center in Burnsville.

The once-a-week classes for students who have recently completed kindergarten through fifth grades will include time tending to a garden and then sessions in the kitchen using the produce to learn about healthy eating and cooking. They will be helped by instructors from the nonprofit Woodhill, Midwest Food Connection and the University of Minnesota.

Classes will be held on Tuesdays, with kindergarten through second grade students meeting from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and third through fifth grade students meeting from 10 a.m. to noon.

The gardening and cooking will take place at Woodhill Urban Agricultural Learning Center, 1512 Woodhill Road in Burnsville, near International Outreach Church and Community Garden.

Enrollment is free, but donations will be accepted, and space is limited. To get registration forms, contact Elizabeth Kackman of Woodhill Urban Agriculture at 612-568-6580 or elizabeth@woodhill urbanag.org.

KATIE HUMPHREY and DAVID PETERSON

Offer thoughts on Cleary Lake's futureIf you want to get involved in future changes to a major park in Scott County, there's a public workshop next week aimed at creating a new master plan for Cleary Lake Regional Park.

The event is 6:30-8:30 p.m. June 14 at the park's pavilion. Participants will discuss outdoor recreation experiences and offer ideas for enhancements.

The park is owned and operated by the Three Rivers Park District, based in Hennepin County, but the planning process is a collaboration with Scott County.

The park's master plan was last updated in 1998.

The 2012 update doesn't necessarily involve any major changes, officials say, but it "will evaluate how the park's amenities, infrastructure, program offerings and natural resources are meeting use demands."

As the two-county partnership develops, it also will place Cleary Lake in context with other developed and planned regional parks in Scott County.

A planning team will start with an overview of park features, usage numbers and the like, then solicit comments on the quality of the recreational experience.

For more information, or to comment, the contact is parks planner Patricia Freeman, 952-496-8752 or pfreeman@co .scott.mn.us.